This invention relates to sports balls or game balls, and, more particularly, to a sports ball having a cover which is movable with respect to an interior bladder.
Many sports balls and game balls include an inflatable bladder and a cover which surrounds the bladder. Such sports balls include, for example, volleyballs, basketballs, footballs, and soccer balls. Sports balls with inflatable bladders conventionally include a liner layer over the bladder for reinforcing the bladder and for maintaining the shape of the bladder. For example, volleyballs have included a cloth liner which surrounds the bladder. The cloth liner may be formed from a plurality of cloth sheets or panels which are dipped in latex adhesive or other adhesive and then applied to the outer surface of the inflated bladder. When the adhesive dries, the cloth panels are adhesively secured together and perhaps also adhesively secured to the bladder. The bladder and the liner layer form the carcass of the volleyball. The cover of the ball is formed from a plurality of panels of leather, synthetic leather, or other cover material which are adhesively secured to the liner layer. Volleyballs are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,239,568 and 5,542,662.
Basketballs have included a wound liner layer which is formed by winding thread or filament around the inflated bladder. The thread is conventionally nylon or similar material and may be dipped in latex glue or polyurethane adhesive before being wound over the bladder. The carcass of a basketball is conventionally formed by applying a layer of rubber over the wound bladder and molding the resulting structure under heat and pressure. The cover is thereafter applied to the carcass. Basketballs are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,178, 5,681,233, 5,931,752 and 6,024,661.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,568 describes a volleyball in which a layer 2 of lubricant such as talc is interposed between the bladder and a first cloth layer 3. The lubricant prevents the cloth layer from sticking to the bladder. However, the manufacturing process requires applying the cloth layer to a hollow sphere which is made from brittle material such as paraffin. The sphere is broken into pieces after the cloth layer is applied. The pieces of paraffin are removed through a slit in the cloth layer, and the bladder is inserted through the slit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,662 describes a modified volleyball which includes a bladder 1 and a thin rubber pouch 2 which forms a covering layer over the bladder. The bladder is coated with an inorganic lubricant 3. The pouch is covered with latex-impregnated cloth 4 and a cover layer 6.
The prior art volleyballs in which a layer of lubricant covers the bladder can be referred to as floating bladder volleyballs. The floating bladder is not adhered to the cloth layer, and the volleyball has a softer feel than other prior art balls in which both the bladder and the cover were adhesively secured to the cloth layer.
The invention provides a volleyball or other sports ball with a floating cover rather than a floating bladder. Since the player feels the cover and not the bladder, better feel and performance is obtained if the cover can float relative to the carcass of the ball. The floating cover improves the dynamics of the ball and produces an even softer feel than a floating bladder.
The bladder is covered with an adhesive-impregnated layer of cloth which provides a load-carrying layer for retaining the shape of the bladder. The bladder and the attached cloth layer-form the carcass of the ball.
The carcass is separated from the cover by a layer of rubber or elastomeric material which is not attached to the carcass. The cover is applied over the elastomeric layer and is movable relative to the carcass. In the preferred embodiment, the elastomeric layer is covered with a layer of adhesive-impregnated cloth in order to facilitate adhesion of the cover to the elastomeric layer.